ES2551754T3 - Self-transported composite cistern, vehicle having such a cistern and method of realization of a composite material cistern body - Google Patents

Abstract

Self-supporting cistern having a cistern body (1) that has several sections (2, 3, 4, 5), in which the sections (2, 3, 4, 5) are welded together and coated with a first composite skin (27) that continuously envelops all the sections (2, 3, 4, 5), said first skin has a filamentous curl that holds the sections together, the first skin (27) is covered by a lightweight honeycomb material (31), and lightweight honeycomb material (31) is coated by an outer skin (34) of composite material.

Description

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DESCRIPTION

Self-transported composite cistern, vehicle that has such a cistern and procedure for carrying out

a composite cistern body

Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of self-supporting tanks and self-supporting tank vehicles. A "self-supporting" cistern means a cistern suitable and capable of supporting its own weight and the weight of its contents without the assistance of a support framework. By "self-supporting tank vehicle" is meant a towed vehicle having a tank body provided with a traction joint and supported by at least one wheel train. Such a self-supporting tanker vehicle does not have a continuous frame and tensile stresses are transmitted.

10 from the traction joint to the wheel train by means of the tank body. Such a self-supporting tank vehicle forms, for example, a semi-trailer or trailer tank for the transport of gaseous, liquid, pasty or powdery products.

Prior art

Generally, self-supporting tank vehicles have a stainless steel tank body. This body

Tanker 15 is provided with a traction joint and is supported by at least one wheel train. The tensile forces are transmitted from the traction joint to the wheel train by means of the stainless steel tank body. Such a cistern is for example described in document EP0610567.

These steel tanks must be designed to be particularly resistant at the same time to the pressure due to the transported fluid and also to the tensile forces. On the other hand, steel is very advantageous since it can be

20 put in contact with food products without any risk of contamination.

However, steel tanks are very heavy and thermally insulate the transported products.

On the other hand, self-supporting tank vehicles are known whose tank body consists of a composite material. Such a vehicle is described for example in document EP0698526. In this document the tank vehicle has a horizontal tank that is made of a composite material reinforced by fibers and

25 inserted in a helmet-shaped housing, also made of a fiber-reinforced composite material. The cistern is distinguished by its lightness. However, the manufacture of such a tank is particularly complex if the size of the horizontal tank and the size of the hull are taken into account.

Document US3158383 also describes a self-supporting tank vehicle whose tank body, which transmits tensile stress without the help of a frame and supports bending and pressure stresses, is

30 composed of a composite material. However, this cistern body is made in one piece and therefore, the dimensions of this cistern body complicate its manufacture.

Document FR2715385 is also known which describes a modular tank with a large polypropylene or polyethylene module consisting of a plurality of central modules that each has an open end provided with an annular projection, the modules are joined together by means of an annular profile. which is sandwiched between the two

35 projections of two successive modules. However, such a tank is not self-supporting and is not designed to transmit tensile stress. In particular, the interfaces between two joints are designed to be watertight and to withstand pressure, but they are not strong enough to transmit tensile stresses.

Document FR2943995 is also known which describes a self-supporting tank vehicle in which the tank body is constituted by sections of composite material, these sections are joined by means of

40 inserts inserted in the foam of the sandwich structure that forms the sections. However, this way of fixing the sections to each other is relatively complicated, and can cause a decrease in the thermal insulating power of the tank walls.

Document CH472325 is also known which describes a self-supporting tank vehicle whose tank body is constituted by sections joined two by two by welding or by means of a reinforcement of

45 composite material. However, this way of fixing the sections with each other is not enough to resist tensile stresses.

Exhibition of the invention

The purpose of the invention is to remedy the drawbacks of the state of the art by proposing a self-supporting and lightweight self-supporting cistern.

In order to do this, a self-supporting cistern according to claim 1 has been proposed according to a first aspect of the invention, which has a cistern body having several sections, said sections are joined together by welding, the sections are further covered by a first composite skin that has a filamentous curl that holds the sections together, the first skin is coated with a light honeycomb material, the light honeycomb material is covered by an outer skin of composite material.

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Thus, the composite body cistern is made from several sections, which are made independently of each other. In this way, its shape and manufacturing can be better controlled, since these sections have limited longitudinal dimensions. In addition, these sections can be transported and stored more easily.

5 Once made, these sections are joined together by welding and filamentary winding, which allows the tank body thus made to be light and resistant.

The self-supporting cistern according to the invention may also have one or more of the characteristics that are subsequently taken individually or according to all technically possible combinations.

Advantageously, each section has a side wall. This side wall is preferably made of a plastic or composite material.

This plastic material can for example be PVC or polypropylene. These side walls of the sections thus form the inner wall of the tank body, which is in contact with the contents of the tank.

Advantageously, the first skin has fibers, these fibers are wrapped around the sections in two directions, which allows to increase the mechanical resistance of the cistern body thus made. Fibers form

15 filamentous curl.

The cistern body preferably extends along a reference axis.

In this document, a direction parallel to the reference axis is designated as "longitudinal", and by "transverse" a direction perpendicular to the reference axis.

The first skin preferably has two groups of fibers:

20 -a first group of fibers that form an angle of 90º with the reference axis,

-a second group of fibers that form an angle between 40º and 60º with the reference axis.

The first group of fibers is preferably wound in the sections, while the second group of fibers is wound in the first group of fibers.

Thus, the first skin preferably has two layers, which correspond to the two groups of fibers.

25 The first skin preferably has a matrix.

The fibers are preferably carbon fibers.

The matrix is preferably a resin, which can be taken from the following group: polyester resin, vinyl ester resin, epoxy resin, phenolic resin, thermoplastic resin (polypropylene, polyamide).

The lightweight honeycomb material can be a foam, for example a polyurethane foam, or a balsa, depending on

30 the resistance to fire and mechanical stresses that are desired for the tank body. It can also be used at the same time as the polyurethane foam, and the raft, preferably the raft being located in the most requested places mechanically so as to increase the mechanical strength of the tank body.

The outer skin of composite material also has a resin and fibers. These fibers are also preferably carbon free.

Advantageously, the cistern body has two ends, and each end is provided with a composite bottom.

The tank bottoms preferably have a sandwich structure. This sandwich structure preferably has an inner wall, preferably of plastic material, a light honeycomb material and an outer wall of composite material. The inner wall of each tank bottom is preferably located in the

The continuation of the side wall of the sections, and the outer wall of each tank bottom is preferably located in the continuation of the outer skin of the tank body.

Advantageously each section has a side wall, at least one of the sections is provided with a partition, the partition is embedded in the side wall of said section. In this way, the partition and its attachment to the tank body better resist the movement of the transported liquid, and in the case of the solid partition, the difference in

Any eventual pressure that may exist between one part and another of this partition.

The partition can be solid or hollow. The partition can be made of a plastic or composite material. The partition can have a single wall or it can be composed of a sandwich structure.

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According to a preferred embodiment, the partition is formed by a sandwich structure that has two plastic walls between which a laminate is located. In the case where one of the compartments defined by the partition is under pressure, the laminate is preferably embedded in the first skin that joins the sections together in order to increase the strength of the joint between the partition and the section containing it. .

Advantageously, the partition is also welded to the side wall of said section in order to increase the strength of its connection with the section that contains it and to ensure tightness.

Advantageously, the tank body is provided with sleepers that allow the tank body to rest on a support, the sleepers are fixed to the tank body by a second composite skin. This fixing mode allows weight gain, being very resistant. In this way, the sleepers are also fixed to the tank body by the filamentary winding.

Each sleeper preferably has a support surface that adapts to a part of the tank body. This support surface preferably does not surround the circumference of the cistern body, but adapts to only a part of the cistern body, which makes it possible to lighten the weight of the cistern.

The second skin that allows to fix the sleepers to the tank body has a resin, and fibers. These fibers are preferably carbon fibers.

Advantageously the sleepers consist of a composite material that has a sandwich structure.

The number of sleepers used depends primarily on the length of the cistern body.

According to one embodiment, the tank also has reheat channels located in contact with the light honeycomb material, between the first skin and the light honeycomb material. In this case, these reheating channels are suitable for containing a hot fluid that circulates through the reheating channels. It could also be provided to circulate a cold fluid through these channels in order to cool the contents of the tank body.

Another aspect of the invention also relates to a self-supporting tank vehicle according to claim 10 having a self-supporting tank according to the first aspect of the invention.

Advantageously the tank vehicle also has a structure for driving on the road.

In this case, the sleepers are preferably fixed to the structure for driving on the road by means of brackets fastened with bolts in said sleepers. The fastening by bolts of the brackets on the sleepers is preferably such that they pass through them.

Another aspect of the invention relates to a method of realizing a tank body for a self-supporting tank according to claim 12, has the following steps:

-realization of the sections;

-union of these sections with each other by welding;

-coating the set of sections by a first composite skin that has a filamentous curl that holds the sections together;

-coating of the first skin of material composed of a lightweight honeycomb material;

-coating of the light honeycomb material by an outer skin of composite material.

The method according to the invention therefore proposes joining the sections by welding and by a filamentary winding thanks to the first skin.

Advantageously the sections are formed by a hot forming and stiffening of a layer of plastic material.

Each tank bottom preferably has an inner plastic wall covered by a composite material, which is covered by a light honeycomb material and an outer skin of composite material.

According to one embodiment, the method also has a stage for fixing two composite bottoms at each end of the body. For this, the inner wall of each tank bottom is preferably welded head-to-head with the side wall of the tank body, then it is coated locally with a filament winding stratification.

Advantageously, during the stage of realization of the sections, at least one of the sections is provided with a transverse partition. In this way, the sections provided with their eventual partitions are manufactured previously, then they are joined together, which makes it possible to simplify the manufacturing process of the tank body. In addition, the fact of fixing the partitions in the sections before joining the sections to each other allows to have sidewall-sidewall interfaces of the section more tight and more solid than in the prior art, since in this way the partitions are embedded in the side wall of the sections.

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Brief description of the figures

Other features and advantages of the invention will result in the reading of the detailed description that follows, with reference to the attached figures, which illustrate:

-Figure 1, a schematic representation of a self-supporting tank vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention;

- Figure 2, a sectional view of the tank body of the vehicle of Figure 1 during its manufacture;

10 - Figure 3, a sectional view of the connection between the side wall of one of the sections of the tank body of Figure 2 and a partition;

Figure 4, a sectional view of the connection between the side wall of one of the sections of the tank body of Figure 2 and a partition according to another embodiment of the invention;

-Figure 5, a perspective view of two sleepers according to an embodiment of the invention.

15 For greater clarity, identical or similar elements are marked by identical reference signs in the set of figures.

Detailed description of at least one embodiment

Figure 1 represents a self-supporting tanker vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention. This tank vehicle has a tank body 1. The tank body 1 extends along a reference axis 8. The

20 cistern body 1 is cylindrical around the reference axis 8. The cistern body 1 has two ends 6 and 7 each provided with a cistern bottom 9, 10.

Next, with reference to Figures 2 to 5, the composition of the tank body 1 and a method of manufacturing this tank body are described.

Thus, the tank body 1 has several sections 2, 3, 4, 5. Each of these sections 2, 3, 4, 5 has

25 a cylindrical side wall 12, 13, 14, 15 around the reference axis 8. This side wall 12, 13, 14, 15 is preferably made of a plastic material.

Thus, in this exemplary embodiment, each of the side walls 12, 13, 14, 15 is composed of a 3 mm thick plastic, PVC or polypropylene coating. This plastic coating stiffens right away.

30 The side wall of each section is preferably made of a material that will be in contact with the contents of the tank, since the side wall of each section will form the inner wall of the tank.

When the cistern body is to have interior partitions, these partitions 16, 17, 18 are preferably integrated in the sections. Thus, sections 3, 4, 5 that must have partitions 16, 17, 18 are formed directly with their partitions 16, 17, 18. For this, each partition 16, 17, 18 is

35 directly embedded in the side wall 13, 14, 15 of the section to which it belongs, as can be seen more exactly in Figure 3. Each partition 16, 17, 18 therefore has an outline 19, 20, 21 that it is embedded in the side wall 13, 14, 15 of the section to which it belongs.

In addition, each partition 16, 17, 18 is welded to the side wall 13, 14, 15 of the section to which it belongs. In the present case, each partition is preferably welded to the side wall at the same time by an inner weld 22 and

40 by an external weld 23.

Each partition 16, 17, 18 may be formed of a plastic material or a composite material.

According to an embodiment represented in Figures 3 and 4, each partition 16, 17, 18 may have a sandwich structure. Thus, in the exemplary embodiment of Figure 3 each partition 16, 17, 18 comprises two plastic walls 24 and 25 between which a laminate 26 is located.

The partition can be solid, as shown in Figure 3, or hollow, as shown in Figure 4. A solid partition allows the tank body to be separated into several compartments, which can thus have different contents. A hollow partition plays the role of breakwater, which is particularly interesting when the cistern contains liquid products.

Once sections 2, 3, 4 and 5 provided with their eventual breakwaters have been manufactured, they are joined.

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For this, sections 2, 3, 4 and 5 are first joined together by welding and then the assembly thus made is covered by a first composite skin that wraps around the assembly of the sections.

This first skin 27 has fibers and a resin.

In this embodiment, the first skin 27 has two groups of fibers:

5 -a first group of fibers that form an angle of 90º with the reference axis,

-a second group of fibers that form an angle of 50 ° with the reference axis.

The first group of fibers is preferably wound in the sections, while the second group of fibers is wound in the first group of fibers.

Thus, the first skin preferably has two layers 28 and 29 corresponding to the two groups of fibers.

10 The fibers of the first skin are preferably carbon fibers. This resin is preferably chosen polyester resin, vinyl ester resin, epoxy resin, phenolic resin, thermoplastic resin (polypropylene, polyamide).

The first skin and welding thus allow the sections to be joined in solidarity with each other.

When one of the compartments of the tank body is under pressure, it can also be provided, as shown in Figure 3, to embed the contour 30 of the laminate 26 of this partition in the first skin in order to

15 to increase the strength of the joint between the partition and the section. In this case the contour 30 of the laminate 26 of the partition 16 is embedded in the first skin, while the contour of the plastic walls 24, 25 is embedded in the side wall 13 of the section to which the partition 16 belongs.

On the contrary, when the exertions exerted on the partition are minor, it is possible to envisage embedding the contour 30 of the laminate 26 only on the first skin, as shown in Figure 4.

20 Once the first skin is placed on the sections, a light honeycomb material 31 is placed on the first skin 27 in order to cover the first skin 27. This light honeycomb material 31 may for example be the bald and / or the foam, like polyurethane foam.

The raft can be placed in the shaded areas 32 that need a mechanical reinforcement, and the polyurethane foam in the other areas 33.

25 The light honeycomb material 31 is then coated by an outer skin 34 of composite material. Thus, the cistern body has a wall with a sandwich structure formed by the side wall 12, 13, 14, 15 of the sections and the first skin 27, the light honeycomb material 31 and the outer wall 34.

The cistern body 1 thus realized is therefore light and mechanically resistant.

Each tank bottom 9, 10 has a sandwich structure, which is preferably identical to the structure of

30 sandwich of the side wall of the tank body so that the tank bottoms 9, 10 are in continuation of the tank body.

The tank bottoms are preferably mechanically fixed to the tank body.

The tank vehicle also has sleepers 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, more precisely represented in Figure 5. These sleepers are fixed under the tank body 1 so as to allow the tank body

35 rest on a support.

These sleepers 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, are adapted to the lower part of the tank body 1. Thus, each sleeper 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41 preferably has a bearing surface 36 that adapts to a part 37 of the cistern body 1. This bearing surface 36 preferably does not surround the circumference of the cistern body but is only adapted to a part 37 of the cistern body, which makes it possible to lighten the weight of

40 cistern

Each sleeper 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41 is preferably made of a composite material and preferably has a sandwich structure. Thus, each sleeper preferably has a layer of a light honeycomb material, which is preferably raft, sandwiched between two stratified skins, preferably of carbon fibers and resin.

The sleepers 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41 are preferably fixed to the tank body 1 by a second composite skin.

The second skin that allows to fix the sleepers to the tank body has a resin and fibers. These second skin fibers are preferably carbon fibers.

E12177371 10-28-2015

The number of sleepers used depends primarily on the length of the cistern body. In this exemplary embodiment, the tank vehicle has seven sleepers 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41. On the road, the tank vehicle is self-supporting between the sleeper 36 and the sleeper 38: in effect: a hitch bench is fixed on sleepers 35 and 36 and the powertrain is fixed on sleepers 38, 39, 40 and 41.

5 When the tanker is parked, a support is fixed to the sleeper 37, so that the tanker is self-supporting between the sleeper 37 and the sleepers 38, 39, 40 and 41 to which the powertrain is fixed.

The fixing of the hook bank 42 in the sleepers 35 and 36 is more accurately represented in Figure 5. In this way the hook bank 42 is fixed in the sleepers 35 and 36 by means of brackets 43 which are fastened with bolts in the sleepers. 35 and 36. The squares 43 are preferably fastened with bolts

10 by means of bolts that pass through each sleeper 35, 36 from one part to another.

The other elements of the road structure, ie the support and the coupling train are preferably fixed to the sleepers in the same way.

Naturally, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the figures and variants may be considered without departing from the scope of the invention. One could especially foresee the realization of

15 a cistern body having another geometric shape, for example conical trunk. Likewise, the fibers of the first skin could be wrapped around the sections according to other directions, depending on the efforts that the tank body must resist.

Claims (11)

image 1 1. Self-supporting cistern having a cistern body (1) that has several sections (2, 3, 4, 5), in which the sections (2, 3, 4, 5) are welded together and coated with a first skin of composite material (27) that continuously envelops all the sections (2, 3, 4, 5), said first skin has a 5 filamentous winding that holds the sections together, the first skin (27) is covered by a light honeycomb material (31), and the light honeycomb material (31) is coated by an outer skin (34) of composite material.

2.

Self-supporting cistern according to the preceding claim, wherein the first skin (27) has fibers, the fibers are wound around the sections (2, 3, 4, 5) in two directions.

3.

Self-supporting cistern according to the preceding claim, wherein the cistern body (1) extends according to

10 a reference axis (8), a first group (28) of fibers of the first skin (27) forms an angle of 90 ° with the reference axis (8), and a second group (29) of fibers forms an angle between 40º and 60º with the reference axis (8). 4. Self-supporting tank according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the tank body (1) has two ends (6, 7), and each end (6, 7) is provided with a tank bottom (9, 10) of composite material.

Self-supporting cistern according to one of the preceding claims, wherein each section (2, 3, 4, 5) has a side wall (12, 13, 14, 15), at least one of the sections (3, 4 , 5) is provided with a partition (16, 17, 18), and the partition (16, 17, 18) is embedded in the side wall (13, 14, 15) of said section (3, 4, 5).

6. Self-supporting cistern according to the preceding claim, wherein the partition (16, 17, 18) is further welded to the side wall (13, 14, 15) of said section.

Self-supporting cistern according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the cistern body (1) is provided with sleepers (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41) that allow the cistern body to rest on a support, and the sleepers (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41) are fixed to the cistern body (1) by a second composite skin.

8. Self-supporting cistern according to the preceding claim, wherein the sleepers (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41) 25 consist of a composite material having a sandwich structure.

9.

Self-supporting cistern according to one of the preceding claims, which also has reheat channels located inside the sandwich structure.

10.

Self-supporting tank vehicle having a self-supporting tank according to one of the preceding claims.

11. Self-supporting tank vehicle according to the preceding claim, that when it has a tank according to one of claims 7 or 8, the tank vehicle also has a road structure (42), and the sleepers (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41) are fixed to the road structure (42) by means of brackets (43) fastened by bolts on said sleepers (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41). 12. Procedure for carrying out a tank body for a self-supporting tank according to one of the claims 1 to 9, the procedure has the following steps: -realization of the sections (2, 3, 4, 5); -union of these sections (2, 3, 4, 5) by welding and coating of these sections (2, 3, 4, 5) by a first skin (27) of composite material that continuously envelops all the sections (2, 3, 4, 5), and said first skin has a filamentous curl that holds the sections together; 40 -coating the first skin (27) by a light honeycomb material (31); -coating of the light honeycomb material (31) by an outer skin (34) of composite material. 13. Method according to the preceding claim, which also has a stage for fixing two tank bottoms (9, 10) of composite material at each end (6, 7) of the tank body (1). 14. A method according to one of claims 12 or 13, wherein at least one of the sections (3, 4, 5) is provided during the stage of realization of the 45 sections (2, 3, 4, 5) transverse septum (16, 17, 18). 8